Even More time passes

A year has passed by since that fateful day when Merlin had gotten rid of the curse that plagued House Caliban. During this period of time, Merlin would occasionally visit his friends, research what there is to know about magic, or create magical artefacts, with which he would hand them out to his friends to experiment with, usually resulting in a backfire.

During this time period, Victoria gave birth to another child, a boy she named Leopold.

In the basement of House Caliban, Merlin refurbished the once dreary underground to be the envy of any researcher around. Tools used for experiments, observation and utilization of Mana littered the tables and shelves with the walls being painted a vibrant white along with the floor.

In his lab, Merlin was currently holding a quill that he turned into a magical artefact with the purpose of turning it into a self-defence weapon when needed. The concept behind it is that once the user twisted the tip of the quill clockwise, the quill would then expand and turn into a sword imbued with the magical properties of its users. In theory that was how it was supposed to function.

However, sometimes the blade would shoot outwards on accident, embedding itself within the walls of his basement.

"I'll let Nozel test this one out," Merlin said, sending the quill into a different dimension which he used as his own spatial storage space. When Fuego saw that Merlin had spatial magic that allowed him to store items, he was envious, which resulted in Merlin creating a ring for him to use with the intention of allowing people to store items within it using spatial magic that had been imbued.

The result? The ring exploded and teleported Fuego all the way into the Forsaken Realm, resulting in him having to travel back on foot as he didn't have a broom.

Suddenly, Mereo barged into his lab, looking flustered as she quickly said, "Merlin! Acier's been wounded, badly!"

Merlin's eyebrows shot up as he grabbed Mereo's hand, teleporting the two of them just outside of the Silva Estate.

Already expecting his arrival, Nozel was waiting for the two outside of the estate, looking more flustered than usual as he was pacing back and forth, not suiting his usually serious and arrogant attitude.

"Merlin! My mother is just inside, please, you have to help her. You have the best recovery magic that I know of." Nozel said, pleading to Merlin in a desperate tone.

Merlin smiled and said, "Of course, I will, who do you take me for?" The three then entered the Silva Estate and towards Acier's bedroom, where the rest of Nozel's siblings were standing outside, looking anxious.

"Merlin… please, help mother. S-She." With tears threatening to come out, Nebra was stuttering, holding Solid's hand.

Merlin approached them and said, "It's going to be alright, she probably only got careless and lightly injured as a result, no need to be so worried."

Entering the bedroom, the three saw Acier laying on her bed with bandages wrapped across her arms and torso, with bruises visible on various parts of her body.

"Merlin, I wish I could say it's nice seeing you again, but in these circumstances, well that would be a bit embarrassing," Acier said with jest as she grunted from trying to sit up.

Merlin raised a hand and approached her as Mereo and Nozel stood a distance away. Activating his Mana's eyes, Merlin frowned deeply for a moment, then instantly hiding the expression as he smiled at her and said, "You'll be fine in a moment, so don't worry." However, Acier was able to catch that lapse in Merlin's friendly expression.

Waving his hand through the air, a flow of green Mana surged from the air and covered Acier's body, healing her injuries and relieving her of fatigue.

With a thankful look, Acier thanked Merlin for his help while Mereo and Nozel breathed out a sigh of relief that nothing serious had occurred.

Mereo then walked over to Acier and said, "Who was it that did this to you? Whoever it is, I'm going to hunt them down myself."

Acier smiled wryly, but before she said anything Merlin interrupted, saying, "Do you two mind leaving me alone with Acier for a moment? There's something I need to talk to her about in private."

Just as Nozel was about to protest, Acier turned and said, "Nozel, do you mind looking after your siblings for me? They must be worried sick right now."

Reluctantly, Nozel nodded, glancing at both Merlin and Acier before turning to leave. Mereo also wanted to say something but the glint in Merlin's eyes indicated to her that not all was as it seems. Opening the door, Nebra and Solid could be seen backing away from the door as they were trying to eavesdrop.

Closing the door behind her, Merlin was now alone with Acier as he pulled up a chair and sat down on it, sighed deeply.

"Acier… why?" Merlin said in a whisper.

In turn, Acier's eyes turned drooped down as she adopted a sad smile and said, "I had no choice, Merlin… They took a child hostage, so I was at a disadvantage the whole time. I had to sacrifice myself in order to protect that child."

Merlin stared into her eyes and said, "Even when you're with child?"

Acier stayed silent, turning her eyes away from his with a guilty expression as her voice got quieter, saying, "I had no choice…"

Merlin rubbed his eyes and said, "So you decided that having a curse placed on you by a Devil is the better result?"

"What else could I have done?!" Acier cried out, tears falling down her face, "If I hadn't moved right then, that child would have died as a result and it would eat away at my consciousness! If I had to make this decision again, I would!"

Merlin smiled and said, "I know you would, that's what makes you different from others, Acier. I also assume that the child was a peasant, yet you still sacrificed yourself. You truly do have a noble soul."

Acier smiled, wiping her tears, "Sorry for yelling at you, but I truly had no other option. That woman and the Devil were too powerful. I tried everything I could, but they ended up using a hostage."

"Where are they now?" Merlin asked her.

"In the Spade Kingdom. Merlin, something is happening in that Kingdom. I don't know what it is, but when I encountered that woman who had an eyepatch on her right eye, she was more powerful than anyone I had ever encountered." Acier explained, retelling the events of her encounter with that strange woman and a Devil named Megicula.

"She must be the Devil's host then…" Merlin muttered, recalling the information he gained from Eurycantha's mind.

Merlin sighed, saying, "Your curse, there's nothing I can do about it currently without meeting the Devil itself. I faced a Devil in the past, but it was an incredibly weak one, a Middle-ranked Devil. The curse that's placed within you is connected to the Devil directly, so it's not in you, most likely using some sort of catalyst."

'He knows quite a lot about Devils…' Acier nodded with a smile and said, "I know. There's only one option for me, and please, Merlin, do not stop me. I need to settle this myself."

Merlin stared into her eyes for a moment, not saying anything before shaking his head and standing up. "You always were so stubborn. Is that where Mereo got her stubbornness from, I wonder? I won't stop you. However, you do realize you're going to be leaving behind 4 children who will be motherless, right?"

"This will allow them to become stronger. The curse will slowly weaken me, so in order to keep everyone safe, I will need to go and confront the Devil in a year's time." Acier explained.

"And then there's the fact that you're pregnant. The most I can do is make sure the baby is protected during your pregnancy and won't be affected by the curse. However, that's the limit as any more could interfere with the curse and could trigger some sort of failsafe inside of the curse, killing you and the baby instantly." Merlin said, manifesting his staff as he drew an intricate Mana circle and slowly pushed it into Acier.

Acier wrapped her arms around her stomach which had yet to expand from the pregnancy, as a tear rolled down the corner of her eye, whispering, "I'm going to be subjecting the child to a cruel fate."

"That's better than not having one," Merlin said, turning to leave. Glancing back at her one last time, Merlin said, "No matter what happens, the baby will be safe, now and in the future. So be at ease, and become the mother that your children can look up to and be proud of." Flashing her a smile, he left the room as Nozel and Mereo entered.

The two then saw her mother smiling brightly as tears streamed down her face. Nozel and his siblings panicked as they approached her to calm her down while Mereo glared towards Merlin, who had to defend himself and say that it wasn't his fault.

Leaving the Silva Estate, Merlin flew up into the sky without any assistance. Going through the clouds, he slowly floated above them as he stared into a particular direction, lost in thought.

"The Spade Kingdom, huh…" With that, Merlin returned to his home.